Ghost story turned love story
by WolfspearWolflover
Summary: It's been four years since Mai left SPR, five since she graduated high school, and four 1/2 since Naru and Masako got engaged... Mai prayed that she would never look back at SPR. When trouble strikes her college, she has no choice but to help, tragedy strikes, even though she prayed it wouldn't. May contain Lemon in future, violence and cursing. Chp1 is bad but it gets much better.
1. Chapter 1

_**My first fanfic. Anime is "ghost hunt". I don't own the anime or the characters, just this fanfic.**_

_**Hope you enjoy, the first chapter is kind of slow, confusing at first and pretty short too but most of it is explained in the second chapter.**_

A girl with auburn hair walked down the darkened eerie hallway of the college. The walls creaked slightly, admitting that it was an old building. The girl tried to remember how she was even convinced to be here in the first place. She froze and whipped around when she heard a screech coming from her black haired companion, Masako. By the time she had registered what happened, Masako was laughing at the brown-haired girl's expression.

"You're so gullible Mai! Honestly, I already told you there are no spirits. You should see the look on your face! No wonder my Oliver chose me after all, you're a wimp."

Mai clenched her fists and thought she could nearly feel her teeth cracking and herself growling, "He didn't have much of a choice with you funding him. You were the one who was jealous of us in the first place, anyway, why the hell did we get partnered up?"

Masako rolled her eyes, "A waste of time being jealous of you. We were partnered up because we can both sense the spirits, which doesn't make sense, since they could have made to teams, one of us on each."  
Mai nodded slowly, "I agree. It would have been more affective that way." The two continued on their way, before Masako paused again, not giving a reason. "Masako, what's wrong?" Masako continued to remain silent, causing Mai to turn to see what was up. Mai froze when she saw Masakos eyes go huge and tremble slightly, she looked truly and utterly horrified. Not in the disgusted way, more like the 'you're going to die' way, or even, 'the most horrific thing is behind you' kind of way. Creaking like heavy foot-steps were fast approaching from behind. Mai whipped around just as Masako passed out. Mai screeched as loud as she could, then everything went black.

~~~Two weeks before~~~

It's been four years since Mai Taniyama left SPR. It's been five years since she graduated from high school. It's been seven years since she started SPR. She'll be turning 23 in a couple of weeks. It's a Thursday, and Mai sat in her dorm/apartment, alone at nearly 9 in the evening, going through boxes and debating on leaving the college she's attending or not.

The brown-haired girl sighed as she went over these thoughts. She didn't ever want to remember that again. Not ever. Though, as she looked at the picture of the whole group together, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness deep in her belly. Deep in that sadness was regret and anger. She would have to return there when her classes ended.

Kazuya Shibuya, who she likes to call 'Naru' (short for narcissist) said he would help pay for her intuition, as long as she was able to owe a debt to him, which meant, most likely returning to SPR. She coul run away and get a very high paying job in order to send him money, so she wouldn't have to return, but he could get Lin Kōujo (his assistant) to find her anywhere, especially if it involved torturing her. Honestly, she would rather to not go to college and end up a hobo if it meant never having to look at the SPR building or group.

The reason for her hate is mainly because of Masako Hara. Before Mai had left SPR, Masako had grown increasingly jealous and violent towards Mai. The two had competed for Naru's affection, but eventually, Masako had won.

One afternoon, as Mai was making some tea once again for Naru, Masako had come in, grinning. Mai had never seen her grin like that, and she trying to be friends with Masako, asked why the black-haired girl was so cheerful.

Mai's heart shattered into a million pieces when Masako had eagerly said how Naru had proposed. The others had been somewhat shocked as well. They all knew well enough Masako was helping fund SPR, but they never knew it went that far. Hōshō Takigawa (who Mai called 'Monk', he was like a father to her) suggested that Mai left, and so she did. Two months later she and Naru had worked out an agreement and she went to a college just outside of Tokyo. It was close enough that if she wanted she could continue working at SPR, but Mai decided to focus on studies.

Now, as she looked at a picture of the whole SPR group, she didn't really feel surprised at why Naru chose Masako after all. Not only did she sponsor his business, Masako also looked much more feminine. Mai had a messy short haired look, she was shorter and she was pretty flat chested compared to the clean, rich, intelligent, black-haired beauty.

Mai had changed though, a lot actually. Now the guys practically fell over her, because now she wasn't only smart, she was also a bit sporty, confident, and she was much more feminine. She had let her hair grow just slightly past her shoulders, gotten bigger breasts, and now had a brain to brag about. Not only that, but her ESP has been growing as well. She saw Gene (Naru's deceased twin brother) in her dreams more often, and she even had started seeing and sensing dangerous situations while she was awake. She still couldn't do exorcisms though, she just didn't have a talent for it.

Mai was forced out of her thoughts when she heard a knock at the door. Heaving a deep sigh she pushed herself out of her sitting position and stepped over the boxes in her room. She was still debating on whether to leave or not. She heard another knock and called "Coming!" Before muttering under her breath, "whoever it is obviously needs to learn patience."

Walking through the small living area of the dorm/apartment she opened the door, an honestly, she was shell-shocked on who stood on the other side. Three members from her old group in SPR.

~~~~30mins later~~~~

A little bit later, John Brown (an Australian priest), Ayako Matsuzaki (a priestess, Mai sees her like a mother), and Hōshō sat on various chairs holding steaming cups of tea that Mai had whipped up. She was still in the kitchen area making a snack, but she could clearly hear them. John was the first to speak up.

"Mai you don't have to make us more than tea, you didn't even have to make that."

"Nonsense, you're my guests and I haven't seen you guys in forever, it's my pleasure," She truly meant it, but at the same time, she felt wary, not knowing why they were visiting her, and how the even found her for that fact. As she walked into the living room with a tray of treats, she decided to ask, "So um, why are you guys here? It's kind of late."

Hōshō was the one to respond, "Well, we have a job here, so we decided to stop by. How are you doing? I mean with your studies of course."  
Mai paused for a minute then shrugged as she sat down, "I'm doing pretty well, I'm debating on doing one last term or not…" Her head snapped up suddenly, "W-wait, you have a job here? At the school?"

Ayako nodded, "Well of course, that's why we're here. Since you know the school, Kazuya wanted us to come see if you wanted to help.'

"W-why didn't… Why didn't he come himself?"

Ayako shrugged and smirked a bit, "Oh who knows. Most likely just lazy. Do you want to help?"

Mai stayed silent for a minute, thinking to herself. If she helped, it would make the job go quicker and make them leave, but at the same time, she promised herself she wouldn't do any ghost hunting ever again. She had a bad feeling, like she did when she was about to eat something bad, or when she didn't really trust someone. She knew this feeling, so she responded, "No. Sorry but I have to focus on studying, the test is soon." She stood abruptly, her gut feeling made her feel sick, "You guys finish eating and then you should go before it gets too late. It was nice catching up."

The rest of the night was awkward and quiet, Mai avoided small talk. Eventually the three left, and she retired to bed. She thought she had avoided the sensation of pending doom, but it wouldn't go away. Maybe Gene had something to tell her, she hoped so at least. She also hoped she wouldn't run into the group.

She barely slept at all that night.

_**Hope you guys enjoy! I haven't written very much so it was probably confusing at points.**_

_**In the next chapter things will start to get pretty interessting.**_

_**Please review your thoughts and favorite if you liked it! Thanks!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter two. I feel not-so-great about having the first chapter so short. I honestly thought it was longer than it actually was, guess I need to learn to write more haha. I also didn't expect it to get nearly 50 views in only a few hours, truly a shock!**_

_**Anyway I'm thinking there will only be three or so chapters to keep them really long, this chapter will be the main centre, and then the next will be the conclusion. Or maybe a chapter in between this one and the next, I'm not sure.**_

_**Anyway, hope you enjoy this one more than you did the last one!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

_~~~~Mai's Dream~~~~_

Mai woke up, well she thought she did, just outside of the school. She was confused for a minute before realizing that it was just a dream, though this one felt different… More… Sinister. She had a really bad feeling. "Gene?" She tried calling without being too loud, but when Gene didn't show himself she decided to investigate the school. It had the same dangerous aura as it did during the day, but for some reason she felt more cautious of it.

She had just about gotten to the front doors when a hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. She let out a startled squeak and whipped around to see who had grabbed her. She nearly collapsed in relief when it was just Gene, smiling softly at her. His smile quickly faded and he grabbed her arm pulling her away from the school. She stumbled after him, he had never been this forceful before. She stopped and pulled out of his grip.

"What's wrong? Is there something in the school?" Gene stayed silent as usual, glancing at her for a moment over his shoulder. After what felt like forever, he turned and headed into the school. Mai, thoroughly confused, rushed after him. As soon as she entered the school she believed she would regret it. There was foxfires everywhere.

There were none the last time she had a dream like this, 2 or 3 at best. At least these were small and very weak, they didn't pose much of a threat. Gene pointed towards an area where she didn't have classes, and she slowly made her way there, curiosity eating at her thoughts.

As she walked it started to become foggier, the air heavier, the light dimmer. She turned to see if Gene was anywhere to be seen but he was gone. She felt lost, she couldn't see anything and she couldn't stop moving forward. She found herself moving up some stairs and turning down another hallway. She could see again but the hallway looked like it was the oldest part of the building and not very well taken care of.

Soon she felt herself begin to move forward once again. Noises came from inside the classes she passed as if it was a normal day, but, when she took a quick glance into one of the rooms, no one was there, and the chatter stopped. Whatever force was leading her forced her to look forward once more. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.

Bodies of young students, high school students, littered the edges of the hallway. Blood poured from the roof, turning the clean, white walls and floor to a dirty reddish brown. She cringed away from the gruesome scene and turned to dash away, only to be stopped by heavy foot-steps. She froze in place as the foot-steps came closer and closer. They quickened the closer they got. She tried to run again but strong arms grabbed her from behind. For a moment she thought it was Gene saving her from this nightmare, but she couldn't have been any more wrong.

She felt a blade pierce into her back and quickly slash upwards. She heard a deep chuckle and whoever had stabbed her, she guessed a man, mutter something before dropping her. She landed awkwardly on her front. She heard foot-steps retreating quickly.

In a last attempt Mai tried to get up, but ended up coughing up blood in her efforts. She heard footsteps again but they were lighter. Looking up she saw Gene rushing to her side – no, not Gene. Naru. Gene was further down the hall. Why wasn't Gene coming? Why was Naru trying to revive her? It didn't make sense. Why was Naru even here? This was her vision. But it felt so real – she could feel her blood begin to pool. She could feel the pain that made her want to cry out. She could feel Naru as he tried to pick her up but Gene protested. They began to argue. Why were they arguing? Now she could see other figures as well.

She saw Masako lying beside her with blood trickling down her forehead. She could see John, Monk, and Ayako run towards her and Naru. She could hear their footsteps and desperate voices as they debated on what to do. Monk pulled out a phone, wait where and when did he get a phone? Why wasn't Naru going to Masako? Also Gene wasn't Gene, it was Lin on the phone, which is why he was standing so far away.

The last things she heard was Naru and the others desperate pleas for her to stay wake, begging for her to stay. Why would they do that? It was just a dream. But god was it real. She started feeling exhaustion. The pain slowly became numbing darkness. She closed her eyes and told herself that when she woke up she would be at home. Her last thought before she couldn't hear anything anymore – what if this isn't a dream?

_~~~~Back to reality~~~~_

Mai sat up like bullet being shot. She was sweating, her hair and bed were a mess, and she could still feel her dream. Not a dream, a horrifying nightmare… Was it a nightmare? It couldn't have been, the SPR group was there, and Masako had been hurt as well. She had never felt pain that real... She had experienced past deaths often enough, but this was different. It was _her_ death. Masako was obviously hurt as well, why wasn't anybody fretting about her? Had she already been dead?

Questions flew through Mai's head like swarms of bees. She hadn't had a dream _that_ vivid before. She had felt pain and like she wasn't dreaming before, but the others or people she knew were ever in there. Except for Gene, who was barely there at all that nightmare. It was so confusing. But it was over. That dream had convinced her to leave. There was something very evil in that school, and for some reason, it had just been awakened.

Glancing at the clock on her night stand she heaved a deep sigh and pushed herself out of bed. It was 5:30am, hardly a human time to wake up. Mai debated on whether to go back to bed or not, but quickly decided against having that dream again and risk being late for class.

She quickly slipped into some clean clothes (thanking once again there were no uncomfortable uniforms). She studied the back of her pj's curiously, and instantly regretted it. The back of her shirt was torn cleanly as if done with a very sharp knife. She dropped the shirt, freezing in shock. _Had it not been a dream after all?! What happened?!_ Rushing to the bathroom she flipped on the lights and nearly fainted at what she saw.

She was extremely pale, had bags under eyes, her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and the worst part…

A small trickle of dried blood was at the corner of her lips.

The blood didn't have a source.

_~~~~Later that morning~~~~_

Mai had still barely gotten over her freak out. Her 'boyfriend' had found her curled up on the bathroom floor looking like a mess. He immediately tried to calm her down and dint question how horrible she looked. He helped her get cleaned up then suggested she take a day off. Mai had declined the offer, she needed to get 100% on the final exam and leave that school. He asked why, and Mai had just said that she had a horrible feeling that the school was becoming evil. He didn't question her feeling and escorted her to the college.

Her 'boyfriend', well really, more like a really close friend that was a guy, was named Kaemon Tamashiro (Mai called him Kae). He had short blond hair and emerald green eyes. He was tall and lanky, but that didn't mean he wasn't tough. He was lanky because his favorite sports were sports that didn't focus on muscle, they focused on agility and speed, like basketball and soccer. His father was the owner of a huge trading company, and Kae was the future CEO, which was why he was at a huge school such as the one in Tokyo.

Mai and Kae had gone on a few dates, enough to be considered a couple, however they decided it wouldn't work, with all their studies to focus on. When they graduated they agreed they could give it a shot.

When Kae had finally convinced Mai to go into the school, she took a quick glance own the left hallway, to where she had gone last night. It looked like a normal everyday hallway. She also couldn't sense all the fox fires. It was completely normal. Letting a relieved sigh she had followed Kae to their morning lecture.

It was boring as usual, then they had lunch, a second lecture, and then made their way away from the school. While avoiding other groups of laughing students, Kae was the first one to speak up.

"Mai, I'm worried. I mean… well, you looked really horrible this morning. Did something happen?"

Mai froze and lowered her eyes. She didn't respond or several moments. She couldn't tell him it was because of a dream, he would get really worried and demand to stay with her, "I wasn't feeling real great yesterday and last night I got sick and didn't sleep much. I guess I must have bit my lip or something in the night."

Kae didn't seem satisfied but he nodded nonetheless, "Alright, if that was it. If you were sick last night you should have called me."

Mai blushed slightly ad continued walking, but at a slow pace, "Ya I'm sorry I didn't, I feel better today though."

"Good. We can't have you be sick and not study when it's so close to finals," he smirked slightly and let out a chuckle. He shyly took Mai's hand and they continued to her apartment in silence.

After Kae had left Mai sat on one of her couches sipping tea, deep in thought. If she slept she could possibly see Gene and get an explanation on the previous dream, however, there was a chance she would have it again, which she desperately didn't want or need. After a while of exhausting debating with herself, she decided to study, and if she fell asleep then maybe she would be so tired she wouldn't dream at all. She prayed that would happen at least.

When she woke up Saturday morning she was both relieved and disappointed. Yes, she hadn't dreamt, but she still hadn't seen Gene, which was more disappointing than not. If he had shown, she could have asked him why the dream had felt so real. It wasn't like when she lived the death of the spirit they were hunting, she felt herself. Same build. She could control her body.

R_ight, I need to focus on studying. Enough with that dream._

With all the energy she could muster she forgot about the dream for the rest of the weekend. The weekend was pretty much uneventful, she and Kae got together a few times and studied. She didn't have any dreams and by Sunday night she wasn't fearful of sleeping any longer. That was something she regretted.

_~~~~Mai's dream~~~~_

Mai woke up just outside of the school like she had in her dream Thursday night. Her eyes widened in fear, not this dream again! She felt a presence behind her and she quickly whipped around stiffly. When she saw it was just Gene standing a couple feet away, she relaxed slightly. This time she would listen to him and not go inside the building, "Gene? What happened last night?"

His face was solemn. He looked almost angry and like Naru did when Mai upset him, but his eyes showed sorrow, "I told you not to go in there."

Mai nodded, "I know and I'm sorry, it serves me right for being stupid… But… What was that? Why did I see the others?"  
"You were seeing your own death. Fox fires aren't always evil."

"W-wait w-what?! That was my own death?!" Mai thought that she hadn't ever felt this scared before.

"Yes. The fox fires were the spirits of the students. They were trying to make you leave by distracting you, but that only pushed you forward."

"S-so who was that man? That killed me?"

"Who is he? That's not important," Gene walked forward and grabbed Mai's arms, "You must _not_ help my brother. No matter what. Both him and your boyfriend are the cause of your death. Break contact with Kaemon and leave the school the second your test is over. Please," his eyes were pleading and desperate.

Mai couldn't help but simply nod. Kae and Naru were the reasons she was going to be killed? But how? Gene started to fade and so did the rest of the dream. Mai didn't know which was worse – this dream or the previous one.

She decided she hadn't wanted to know the truth after all.

_~~~~Back to Reality~~~~_

_**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**I tried to make it as long as possible, and I could have made it longer, but I need a break from writing haha.**_

_**It sure is getting interesting! How do you think the two boys will cause her death? I'm curious to hear your thoughts!**_

_**I do realize that my grammer isn't the best and I say "but" a lot, I'll try to practice a bit before I write the next chapter.**_

_**I might add onto this chapter so just in case keep an eye on it. Cya in the next chapter!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I'm going to try to make this chapter longer than the last one, I didn't really expect the last one to be shorter than I planned. Thank you all for reading and giving your support! **_

_**This chapter, to make it longer, I'm going to try to do it from different angles to make it longer (like in the beginning, a quick trip to the past) **_

_**I'm realqly sorry about taking so long to update, I've had writer's block.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost hunt**

_~~~~Two months before Mai left SPR~~~~_

"Mai! Tea!"

Mai sighed and shook her head and mumbled, "Again? I'm starting to think he has a real problem." Almost as if she was a robot she put the kettle on the stove and a tea packet in a cup. The kettle whistled shrilly and Mai quickly removed it. She mixed up the tea, grabbed a tray and made some food as well, since it was lunch time.

"Mai what's taking so long?!"

She huffed and rolled her eyes making her way to Naru's office. Naru cocked an eyebrow at the food after taking a sip from the tea. Mai got the silent message and sighed shaking her head, "You have to eat some time," when he continued to ignore her while downing his tea she decided to leave and go do some work, maybe talk to Lin.

_Naru is being even more demanding and distant than normal. I wonder if something is wrong._ She hopped it wasn't her, she had been working extra hard lately to get intuition for college. She had barely noticed Masako had walked into the building, and only snapped out of her thoughts when Masako tapped Mai's shoulder calling her name.

"Mai?! Geez Mai wake up!"

"Huh? Oh! I'm sorry Masako – guess I zoned out," Mai felt herself blush slightly.

"Obviously," Masako rolled her eyes, then grinned, Mai had never seen Masako grin like that before, "Well I have something to tell you. I'm not longer jealous of you and Naru. He came to his senses."

Mai was taken slightly aback, "O-oh? Why do you say that?"

Masako giggled some, "Ah, naïve little Mai," Masako held up her left hand. A diamond ring glinted on her ring finger. Mai's eyes widened and she started getting butterflies in her stomach.

"Um that's very beautiful Masako…"

"I know. Naru proposed to me with it," Masako was holding back a bark of laughter at Mai's face, "Jealous are we, Mai?"

Mai shook her head and lowered her eyes, "N-no. I'm happy for you."

Masako's smile faded a little but she shrugged and headed for Naru's office. Mai sighed and shook her head, murmuring, "at least I can go to school without distractions now."

She heard a pause in Lin's typing for a minute, as if he was going to mention something, but then it continued.

Over the next two months Naru had barely talked to her. The only time he even acknowledged Mai was when she messed up, he needed tea, the three cases during the short time and when she asked him to help her go to school, which he reluctantly agreed to. Monk, John and Ayako had tried to support her and tell her not to leave, but she was stubborn and had made up her mind. Masako had been smug and pointed out her ring to Mai whenever she could. It was torture for Mai at the beginning, but slowly, Mai decided to lose her feelings towards Naru.

By the time she left, she had become cold, secretive, the opposite of who she used to be. Monk was worried but she ignored him. Her new life was beginning, and it didn't involve SPR.

_~~~~Present Day~~~~_

Mai woke with a start, confused at where she was at first. Groaning a bit she rubbed her head and remembered – she was in her apartment and attending college. Not only that but she suddenly remembered her dream. Gene had told her that Kae and Naru would be the death of her. What did he mean by that? She understood that by inviting her to join SPR could get her killed – she was a danger/ghost magnet – but how would Kae affect her? Did he have something to do with the man that stabbed her?

Shaking her head she pushed herself from her bed and went to the bathroom. It was hard to decide which dream was worse – the one of her dying, or the one she had just had. They were probably equal.

Mai washed her face and brushed down her hair, she was late so she wouldn't be able to have a shower. She would have to have one that night. She slipped on some comfortable clothes, grabbed her text books and made her way out of the apartment and to the school.

She was almost in the doors when a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks. _"Break all contact from Kae," _Yeah, good advice. Advice that was completely useless here.

"Mai!" Kae came running towards her, breathing heavily. To make him that out of breath he must have run two marathons in an hour, "H-hey Mai. Feeling better today?"

Mai nodded a bit hesitantly, she should be listening to Gene, but she couldn't imagine Kae trying to hurt her, "Yeah, actually a lot better. Thanks for asking."

Kae grinned, "No problem. I'm really glad you're feeling better. Do you think we could walk to class together?"

Mai giggled and nodded, "Of course silly, we walk to class together every day. Come on we're gonna be late,"

Kae blushed a bit and chuckled rubbing the back of his head, "R-right," Mai rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm heading inside the school. She had a strange feeling deep in her gut. Then she realized why. IT hadn't been Kae who stopped her, it had been the white van in the Teachers parking area. The same white van that SPR used.

Mai was still pretty shaken up about seeing that van. She could recognize it anywhere. But why was it here? _Oh that's right… There's a case here…_ Great. So now she had the risk of running into them. That was just utterly perfect. Kae had noticed her worried look and nudged her a bit.

"Hey Mai, you okay? Something happen just now?"

Mai shook her head and sat down near the middle of the stands, Kae sat beside her like always, "I'm fine, just thinking. I tend to look worried while thinking," She giggled dryly.

Kae frowned but didn't press, "If that's it… Just don't get distracted and end up missing something."

Mai nodded and looked forward after organizing her note books, "Don't worry. I have to pass the tests."

Kae nodded and chuckled slightly, quickly organizing his own things when the professor stepped to the front of the class. He cleared his throat and studied the room for a moment before speaking, "Good morning students," Some people gave a grunt of greeting, "As some of you heard, there have been suspicious activity on the other side of the school, we have decided, for your safety, to figure out what is causing the incidents," The professor beckoned his hand in a 'come in' way at the door.

Mai's breath hitched and she felt like she was going to lose it.

"Class this is Mr. Shibuya. He is the head of the group helping the school. He has some requests for you so while he speaks, and in future, give him your utmost respect."

Naru's face stayed stoic and emotionless as the Professor introduced him. Once the Professor had finished, he left a moment of silence before speaking, "First, I would ask that everyone stay away from that side of the school. If you hadn't heard there have been injuries from unknown causes. Unless you need to go there or you'll fail or something that dramatic, leave us to our work. Please." 

The Professor looked a bit appalled at Naru's blunt statement. He cleared his throat then bowed slightly and awkwardly to Naru, "Well we thank you for helping us," He turned back to the students, "I hope you fully understand. There will be a curfew in place as well since the accidents have been more frequent. You will be given details on your way out."

He and Naru shook hands and talked a minute more. Naru turned and headed for the door, disappearing into the hallway and most likely to another class. Knowing him he was probably getting irritated at having to do that.

"Mai? Are you alright?" Kae looked at her with full concern in his eyes.

Mai nodded, "Y-yeah I'm fine. Don't worry. Just shocked."

"Well it looks like you just saw a ghost," Kae cocked his head a little studying Mai, "Is it something to do with that guy? Do you know him?"

Mai nodded slowly, she could still feel Naru's eyes on her. When he had been speaking he had studied the class, and of course, he saw her. Naru and Mai's eyes had connected and he simply studied her for a minute while the Professor had spoken the second time.

"Mai?" Mai realized she zoned out again.

"I'm fine. I'll explain after class." Kae nodded hesitantly but didn't persist, though he did glance at Mai every so often worriedly.

After class Mai attempted to avoid Kae, but that was a near impossible task. He caught her soon after she left the building.

"Mai you said you would explain why you froze up," Kae had a determined look in his eyes.

Mai sighed and nodded, "Guess I have to. He used to be my boss. He's paying for me to come to this school.

Kae's eyes widened a bit, which was unexpected. She didn't think he would react like that, "He was your boss? That's all? Nothing else?"

Mai started feeling a bit scared at his persistence, "Uh yeah, just boss. Nothing else."

"Well then why is he paying for you to come here? You know I could help with that!"

She blushed a bit and averted her gaze, "I don't want you to have to pay for your own schooling and mine. Don't worry about it."

Kae didn't let it go, "You sure? If he wants to be paid back I can at least do that."

She shook her head and raised her head to look at him, "No. I'm fine. Don't worry about it, seriously."

He frowned but nodded slowly, "Alright… But if he causes you trouble about it come tell me, ok?"

At this point Mai was starting to feel uneasy, "Yeah ok," She looked up and squeaked a bit when she saw Ayako, Monk and John walking towards the van. Ayako and Monk were arguing, as accepted. Kae narrowed his eyes at them.

"They people you worked with?" He tensed up when John had turned around with a camera in his arms and spotted the two. He smiled sweetly with waved, which made Mai tense a bit as well.

"Yeah, they are. They look like they want to talk, I'll see you later, ok?" Kae scowled but nodded after a moment.

"Alright. I'll see you later," As he walked away Mai felt a dangerous aura about him. Culd he be jealous of the SPR group? Was this what Gene was talking about? She doubted it. Kae didn't go through with his threats, he rarely did. Still…

She realized she was just standing staring at nothing, so she shook herself and walkekd over to the white van, Ayako, Monk, John, and her past. Just as she made it to John and he was about to say something, Monk appeared out of nowhere and nearly suffocated Mai with his hugging.

"Mai! You're going to help?!"

I sighed and shook her head, "No Monk. John wanted to tell me something."

John blushed a bit and lowered his eyes while rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah um, that's what I was going to ask."

I groaned a bit, "I can't help."

_~~~~~author note, sorry!~~~~~_

_I'm going to switch to first person, third person is getting hard to write._

_So sorry everyone! It's just easier for me to write!_

_I'll write first person from now on in future._

_~~~~~~~Back to story~~~~~~_

Ayako was trying to pry Monk off of me, "Monk you idiot you're going to kill her!"

Monk made a whimpering sound, "But she's my daughter!"

Rolling my eyes I pushed Monk off of me while he was distracted, "Sorry Monk but I'm not helping. I've made up my mind."

John spoke up, which surprised me, he was usually so quiet, "We could seriously use your help. You do know how to preform exorcisms and even if you don't have classes there you still might know your way around from past experiences."

_Yeah… Like my dream…_

I shook my head, "I'm really sorry, but the answer is still no. I'll see you guys around." I felt really bad for replying so harshly but I wasn't going back. I turned and made my way to where Kae and I always met up. I wish could explain to them why, but I just couldn't. They probably understood why anyway.

After a little bit I finally made it to the small field on the edge of school territory. Kae was already waiting on a bench with a boxed lunch beside him, looking around. I must have taken longer than expected.

When I got closer he looked my way and smiled sweetly, he seemed to relax quite a bit. He moved over slightly and offered for me to sit beside him, then part of his lunch.

"So, uh, how'd it go Mai?"

I sighed and frowned a bit, "It went alright. They asked for me to help-"

Kae cut me off, "Did you decline?!"

I blinked and nodded slowly, a bit frightened and shocked at his reaction, "well, um, yeah, I did. I need to focus on studies."

Kae made a sigh of relief and took a bite of his food, "oh good."

I frowned a bit at that but I still stayed silent and ate. When we both finished eating we made small talk, but he seemed to be distant and deep in thought. He was acting really strange, he was fine earlier; until he found out she knew Naru.

Could he be jealous?

Nah, I doubt he is. I mean – Naru used to be my boss, _only_ my boss; and that was years ago. It was true I used to have a crush on Naru and be really jealous of Masako, but my feelings for him disintegrated not long after I started college. He would never even give me a second look unless I ran a really good tea shop.

The afternoon progressed normally – attending boring classes, Kae making snide comments every so often. He seemed to be fine again, it was really getting on my last nerve. Maybe he was dangerous like Gene said; I just had a hard time believing it. A really hard time.

I had nearly made it out of the school when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Kae glanced at who the hand belonged to and scowled. Confused I turned around and nearly fainted in shock.

Naru was standing there with a smug looking smirk on his face.

I nearly growled, "What do you want?"

His smirk grew, "I need my tea, of course."

_**I'm super sorry about changing it in the middle of the story – experiment failed.**_

_**From now on I will write first person since it does seem a bit easier at points.**_

_**If you have any requests for future Fanfics then I'm open to suggestions!**_

_**This might only have another chapter and then a short conclusion, so I'm going to start planning the next one.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I am so sorry for not updating! Life has become so fricking hectic it's nearly impossible to keep track of time.**_

_**I'll try to start the conclusion/last chapter as soon as this chapter is done and uploaded.**_

_**I'm going to post something kind of important at the end of this chapter, so if you want to help me decide on my next fanfic, go check it out!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.**_

I grit my teeth and felt like slapping him. How dare that narcissistic jerk! I felt Kae stiffen and clench his fists but I tried to ignore it. Naru's eyes narrowed a bit contradicting his amused smirk, making it look like he was more frustrated than not.

"Are you fricking kidding me N-Kazuya?! Seriously! You can't just pull me out of my studies to help your dumb ass!"

I felt Kae's approving glance but it quickly turned into a glare of daggers directed at Naru, who simply chuckled, "I can and I have. I've already spoken to your headmaster and he eagerly agreed as long as you continue to study for the final exams."

I sighed and turned to Kae with my arms crossed, making Kae stop his glaring at Naru momentarily at the fact that I did have _my arms crossed_, ignoring the fact that Naru glared at Kae when I did so, "Listen Kae, I'll text you later, okay? We can have something to eat together tomorrow."

Kae frowned but nodded, "Alright, I'll see you later," he pecked me on the cheek which made it hard for me _not_ to blush. As he walked towards the dorms I turned back to Naru and nearly squeaked at the death glare in his eyes. What had gotten into him so suddenly?

I cleared my throat to get his attention, "So um, are you going to show me to base or just stand there until I walk away?"

He seemed to snap out of his thoughts but stayed silent for a few moments more before turning to head into the school, "Let's go."

I nodded and followed him into the school, still thoroughly confused at why Naru acted so weird when Kae left, he usually contained his emotions so well, yet even I could tell he had murder on his mind.

Strange…

…_._

"Mai-chan!"

"Don't call me that," I huffed as Ayako tried and failed to pull Monk off of me.

"Awh but Mai-chan, you said you wouldn't help, but here you are! You obviously missed us!"

I nearly pushed Monk off myself but John's words got him to immediately move away, "Uh mate, Kazuya is going to be here any minute and he won't appreciate seeing you like that."

Ayako was nearly rolling on the floor laughing at my confused face and Monk's horrified face, and then ended up on the floor when Naru stepped into the room, looking thoroughly ticked off.

Monk squeaked and tried to hide behind Ayako who got over her fit of laughter and hit him, knocking him out of his senses for a minute. Lin, who was sitting in front of the wall of monitors, was smirking.

_Smirking. Definitely a smirk. Maybe an evil smile._

"It's nice to see you again Mai."

_D-did Lin just talk?! To me?! What the hell happened while I was gone?!_

"Y-yeah um nice to see you t-too."

His smirk grew as he turned back to the monitors. Naru had gone to sit on a chair with his arms crossed, glaring at the arguing Ayako and Monk.

_Okay… So maybe things haven't changed that much…_

I turned when I heard Monk turn towards the door and speak, "Oh your back pretty quick Masako. How'd it go?"

Masako looked me up and down before pretending I didn't exist and reply to John, "It was quick. There are no spirit activity, not in this section of the school. It's pointless and a waste of time to finish setting up here."

_As blunt as ever…_

Naru barely acknowledged the arrival of Masako, "Mai. Tea."

I huffed, "Fine, I guess you won't let me leave anyway."

I could practically hear his smirk, "True enough. I made sure you had permission to enter the kitchen."

I groaned a bit and rolled my eyes heading down the hallway to the kitchen as quickly as I could. Luckily it was only a few doors down. I glanced over my shoulder a bit nervously when I heard footsteps coming from behind. It was Osamu Yasuhara.

_Oh great, that's just icing on the cake._

"Mai! You look so grown up!"

I squeaked as he nearly tackled me, pulling me into a tight bear hug, "Uh hey to you too Osamu. Long-time no see."

He chuckled and let me go after a moment, "Let me guess, boss needs his tea?"

I sighed and nodded while saying sarcastically, "How'd you guess?"

His chuckle turned into a laugh as he trailed after me into the kitchen, "I suppose there are smarter questions out there."

I nodded again and hummed an answer while putting a kettle on the small stove. Osamu stayed strangely quiet as I picked a tea bag and put it in a cup. The kettle screeched and I poured the steaming hot water into the cup as well. I decided to make some snacks for the others, might as well when I have the chance.

After about 15 minutes Osamu was helping me carry a tray of tea and snacks back to the base. I felt a little out of place as I sat down in one of the chairs as Osamu put the tray down on the table and the others talked.

They were talking about how Masako didn't sense any spirits, well any _threatening_ spirits from what I caught.

"Mai?" Monk and Ayako were looking at me curiously.

"Oh um, yeah…?"

Naru was the one who replied, he looked frustrated, "I was asking if you have had any dreams since you've been to this school."

I froze and by the look of the others I must have looked either blank or scared.

Flash backs from my last two dreams came flooding back.

Lin glanced over his shoulder from the sudden deathly silence. Monk was the first once to speak.

"Mai? Are you ok?"

I nodded quickly trying to snap myself out of the shock, "oh, uh, no I haven't. No dreams I mean."

I bit my lip slightly and avoided looking at anybody in the eyes. If I dreamed tonight, it would probably be Gene scolding me for not being honest.

Naru cocked an eyebrow glancing in y direction but didn't press any further, "In that case you may go."

That caught me real off-guard. He's letting me just leave?!

I couldn't help but act like a robot and nod standing up, "Thanks. I guess I'll see you all tomorrow."

I bid them farewell and left heading for my apartment. Everyone had seemed normal enough, though unusually quiet. Usually John would somehow be dragged into Ayako's and Monk's argument, but he had pretty much ignored them. I could _feel_ Masako's glare which confused and annoyed the hell out of me; and Osamu, who usually was bouncing around chatting like a jackrabbit, was quiet but keeping a close eye on Masako and Naru who were sitting very close to each other.

The strangest thing was that Naru barely acknowledged Masako and there was tension in between the two.

What was going on with those two?

It was extremely strange.

…_.._

_~~~Mai's dream~~~_

"Why didn't you tell them the truth? You know what's in that school isn't a ghost but just as dangerous."

I whipped around to see the school of course, with a very annoyed looking Gene standing a few feet away. The school had an eerie feeling, and just beyond Gene I could see a larger, brighter foxfire then the others in the school.

I felt like a puppy or kid who just got scolded when I turned my gaze back onto Gene. I lowered my eyes, "I didn't think they would believe me. After all, they'll be fine, won't they?"

He let out a frustrated growling noise, "Yes, they'll be fine, but not you."

I sighed and nodded, "I know. I'm sorry."

With that everything went black and my dream ended.

…_._

_~~~~Reality~~~~_

When I had woken up from the strangely short dream I had told myself to try to forget it, for now. I quickly got dressed and had a bite to eat. Just before I left, I checked my clock and saw I had a little bit of time, plus I would be working for SPR today so it didn't really matter if I was a bit late. At least not to me.

I decided to flip on the TV to the local news as I flopped down onto the loveseat. It was a weather report, not very interesting, just saying how it would continue to get warmer as summer approached. Not surprising, what made me nearly freak out, was the report after the weather.

A picture of a girl, around her twenties, appeared on the screen along with the name Michie Ikehara. The girl had bright, expressive green eyes, tanned skin and long black hair that she had pulled into a ponytail. I remembered having her one of my classes, or at least seeing her around the college. I think I remember Kae having a small crush on her or an older sister, but he was turned down and got a little depressed.

It wasn't too long ago, just a couple weeks before SPR showed up and my dreams started happening.

The newscast did a sort of 'review' of who she was and who her family was before continuing onto the real report. Apparently she had stayed after school for extra help but hadn't returned to her dorm according to her roommate.

What they said next made me have flash backs of my dream and the huge, fresh foxfire.

Apparently Ikehara's body had been found, chopped up, on the second floor, east hallway.

_Where the dream that started all of this was._

I quickly turned off the report then stayed still for a few minutes longer. What was going on? Was it all a coincidence?

I tried to collect my thoughts and push them to the back of my mind as I robotically left the 'house'. Maybe this uneasy feeling was just because I practically saw her right after she died. The only thing was that Gene seemed like he was trying to hide the spirit from me. Why would he do that? He was acting more and more like Naru would if he went insane. It left me with a sick feeling, and I really didn't like it.

…_.._

"You're late and I need tea."

I rolled my eyes and huffed, crossing my arms. Nearly the second I had put my stuff down on a table Naru had me getting some of his tea. Stupid narcissistic jerk. He really hasn't changed. I quickly made some tea for everyone else as well and I was about to take the tray into base when I heard Kae's voice from the door.

"So you're really going to help them? Even that Shibuya guy?" He sounded tense.

I nodded slowly, a bit worried and confused at his questions, "Well yeah. Technically I never quite and I was never fired."

"You know you don't have to…" He looked away as if something was bothering him. I was about to speak when he spoke again, "I don't like that Shibuya. He seems suspicious. You sure you two don't have a past?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly, this wasn't like Kae at all, "No. We don't have a past Kae."

He huffed a bit and turned to leave, "Alright, just don't forget about our date tonight. I don't like you hanging out with him."

I rolled my eyes slightly, "I'm not 'hanging out' with him. Just work."

He glanced over his shoulder at me and his words seemed strangely ominous and gave me goose bumps, "Well we're together. He better remember that, so should you."

I tried to push his threateningly look out of my mind and put on an 'I'm pissed off and don't care' look, "Listen Kae, we aren't together, just good friends. Now excuse me I have work to do."

I pushed past him with the tea, trying not to spill it, and made my way to base. I tried to ignore his glare and animal-like growl.

…_.._

When I got back I regretted leaving Kae and joining up with SPR.

"Ah Mai your back. Good. I want you to do something."

I cocked my head slightly as I put the tea down, turning my attention to Naru, "Uh yeah? What is it?"

"I want you and Masako to go check a camera on the second floor tonight. It seems to have been tampered with."

The room nearly echoed with mine and Masako's voices, "WHAT?!"

Naru didn't seem moved, "You both will do as you're told. I expect you to."

That was him basically ending the conversation. Great. I had to work with Masako. I'm sure this will be fun.

_**Thanks for reading! Kind of rushed ending because I wanted to just finish it.**_

_**Alright, so I believe the next chapter will be last. After that I will post a little "opinion area" where I will say the fanfics I have in mind.**_

_**I will go into more detail there, but I'm thinking of two things: A sequel to this or a Fairytail fanfic (I'm so fricking addicted to that right now)**_

_**I don't even know if I'll get around to make another fanfic but just in case.**_


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